PRESS RELEASE (8 July 2020)- POTENTIAL JUDICIAL REVIEW OF LEICESTER LOCKDOWN

Press Release - Judicial Review of Leicester Lockdown

Comment by Sophie Khan, Solicitor Director at Sophie Khan & Co. a niche firm specialising in civil liberties and human rights law:-

"Today, 8 July 2020, a letter has been sent to the Government seeking to judicially review the local lockdown imposed in Leicester City and parts of Leicestershire, on the grounds that the scientific evidence does not support such action being taken.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been on notice since 23 May 2020, as to the issues around the reporting of Pillar 2 testing results and there are serious questions about the 'lighthouse' laboratory testing of the samples from Leicester.

Our client believes that the Regulations made on 3 July 2020 are unlawful and that the Secretary of State must publish a direction terminating the restrictions and requirements set out in those Regulations by no later than Friday, 10 July 2020."

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Press Release 2 - Judicial Review of Leicester Lockdown

The proposed challenge to the law is that on the basis of the report by the Rapid Investigation Team - Preliminary investigation into COVID-19 exceedances in Leicester (June 2020) dated 29 June 2020 there was no justification to close and/or to extend the closures and restrictions in Leicester City and parts of Leicestershire – Oadby and Wigston, Birstall, Thurmaston, Braunstone Town (including Fosse Park), Glenfield, Glen Parva, Leicester Forest East (east of the M1) and Thorpe Astley.

By 24 June 2020, the daily confirmed cases in Leicester City had gone down, Figure 1.1.

There were 16 confirmed cases for Pillar 2 and 4 confirmed cases for Pillar 1, Figure 2.

On 3 July 2020, there was no “serious and imminent threat to the public health” posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

This downward trend in confirmed cases would have continued without the need to impose restrictions on the residents of Leicester City and parts of Leicestershire or the requirement to close and/or extend the closures for businesses beyond 4 July 2020.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020 are unlawful.

The Secretary of State, according to s.2(3) of the Regulations must publish a direction terminating the restrictions on the residents of Leicester City and the following areas of Leicestershire – Oadby and Wigston, Birstall, Thurmaston, Braunstone Town (including Fosse Park), Glenfield, Glen Parva, Leicester Forest East (east of the M1) and Thorpe Astley and the requirement to close and/or extend the closures of businesses in the same area, by no later than Friday, 10 July 2020.

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